大宋僧史略 1.70

1.70

The Esoteric Store is the method of dhāraṇī. This teaching is secret, not the domain of the two vehicles, but the realm traversed by the buddhas and bodhisattvas. The old translations say 'holding' (chi); the new translations say 'nature' (xing). When traced to its source, it is the wondrous and subtle nature of dharmas. When embodied in speech, it is the mother of dhāraṇīs. When its sound is investigated, it is the science of phonetics (śabdavidyā). When its script is plumbed, it is the linguistic root (dhātu) and affixes (pratyaya). The Chu sanzang ji ji says: 'Spells (mantra) are dhāraṇī, subtle and secret retention.' In the Gaoseng zhuan, Śrīmitra was originally a man of the Western Regions. At the beginning of the Eastern Jin, he came to Jianye. Wang Dao, Zhou Yebin, and Yu Liang all held him in high esteem. He was adept at incantations, and his performances were mostly efficacious. At that time, incantation methods did not yet exist east of the Yangtze River; Mitra translated the Peacock King Spell (Mahāmāyūrī-vidyārājñī), which was the beginning of incantation rituals. Under the Northern Wei, there was Bodhiruci of Mount Song, whose incantations over wells, trees, and the like were quite efficacious. Under the Tang dynasty, Dharma Master Zhitong was extremely skilled in spells and incantations. Next was Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra (Bukong), who broadly translated the dhāraṇī teachings and frequently set up maṇḍalas at Daxingshan Temple in the capital; his supernatural powers were incomprehensible. The ritual of the consecration (abhiṣeka) altar began with Amoghavajra. In the Yongtai reign period of Emperor Daizong, he decreed that at the site of the consecration sanctuary, fourteen men should be selected to chant the Uṣṇīṣa Spell constantly for the state and be exempt from corvée labor and land taxes. In the late Liang and the Later Tang period, Ācārya Daoxian one night dreamed that he traveled to the five Indias and saw the Buddha pointing out that this was such-and-such country and village. By morning, he suddenly understood the languages and sounds of the five Indias without the slightest error. Today, those who transmit the powder altar ritual all take this master as their ancestral founder; this is the Ācārya of Fengxiang. Emperor Qingtai of the Later Tang particularly honored his way. Later, he followed the imperial retinue to Luoyang and died. His stūpa is now at Longmen, near the south of the Eastern Capital. The Great Master of Japan frequently expounded the Esoteric Store for princes and nobles; to this day, his disciples have proliferated, and those who transmit his vocation are titled 'Tripiṭaka Masters.' Those who concurrently lecture on the sūtras, vinaya, and śāstras are referred to as 'transmitters of the exoteric and esoteric stores.'